Weak Moments in Dieting by Johnny T.
Flynn
Author of the book: Heavy Lettuce - The
adventures of a journeyman dieter
“Weak Moments in
Dieting” by Johnny T. Flynn
When dieting, most
people realize that they will not be able to give up their
favorite foods, like chocolate, using the “cold turkey,”
method.
If they could
do that, then they should already be on the way to a slimmer
figure. And when I speak of “favorite foods,” I’m assuming
that would be along the lines of: pudding, muffins, French
fries, chocolate chip cookies, pizza, pies, and cakes.
If you show me a person
whose favorite foods are carrots and lettuce, then I’ll show
you someone who does not need to go on a diet. In fact, this
person might really be just a big rabbit dressed up in a
person suit.
Knowing that it’s nearly
impossible to give up chocolate (or whatever your favorite
food is) entirely, we must find a way to ration the amounts
we eat and control the frequency with which we eat it. We
might buy ourselves an extra large Hershey bar, cut it up
into 50 pieces (as big as your finger nail), throw it into
the refrigerator, and declare that we will only eat one
piece every day. This is a great plan. However, like all
things related to diets, it isn’t easy to do. Here is what
goes on in many dieters’ heads as they attempt to ration
their chocolate:
Some of you may think
I’m exaggerating a little bit. But aside from the mini-break
from reality, I will stand by my example. That’s exactly why
it’s bad to keep lots of your favorite foods, especially the
ones you can just pick up and eat, in your house. It’s too
tempting to try to resist. And don’t make the excuse that
you just went shopping because you are entertaining friends
the following week. If that is so, wait until the day before
the event and then buy what you need.
I’ve had many
experiences that were just like the one above, so let me
give you another example. Back in my early to mid thirties,
I realized that I needed to find a replacement for apple
fritters and potato chips, because I knew they were two of
the worst foods to eat when on a diet. My mother suggested
that I try some of her diet fudgesicles. I tried one and
thought it tasted great. I asked my mom where she got them.
She said, “I got them at the store, where else would I get
them?” And then she looked at me as if I had been dropped on
my head just after I was born. After the uncomfortable
silence was over, I drove to Safeway, which was on my way
home, and I picked up a box of 12 diet fudgesicles. I put
all the grocery bags into the trunk, except the bag
containing the fudgsicles. This was, of course, by design so
that I could enjoy a fudgesicle on the way home. I guess I
enjoyed that fudgesicle more than I thought because as I
pulled into my driveway, I realized that there were now only
10 left. After I placed them in the fridge, I said to
myself, “No more of those today, Johnny!”
About an hour later, I
started to channel surf with the remote control. As usual,
not much was on, and I was feeling kind of blah. I
immediately became hungry, and I meandered toward the
refrigerator. I didn’t have much in there, but I was fully
aware that I still had 10 fudgesicles resting easy in the
freezer. After a mental debate of about 3 seconds, I opened
the freezer door, grabbed a fudgesicle, and then carried it
to the sofa so that I could resume my channel surfing.
Before I could cycle
through the 53 channels even once, I was holding just a
stick. I was thinking that the fudgesicles were quite
smaller than the ones I had when I was a kid. Was that
because I was larger in comparison? That’s one possibility.
I think the other possibility is that the food companies
make these fudgesicles 33% smaller, so that they can print
“one third less calories,” on the box (in big letters).
Who’s going to fall for that? Me, that’s who.
I ended up eating 3 more
fudgesicles that night, bringing the total to six. I had a
different excuse for each one that I ate, and I was so upset
with myself that I threw the whole box, with the remaining
fudgesicles, in the trash. Ten minutes after that, I was
thinking that the fudgesicles were still in their wrappers,
and it wasn’t too late to have one more. Knowing that I had
the self-control of a kindergartner, I unwrapped all the
fudgesicles and threw them down the garbage chute. Problem
solved.
In situations like
these, one might ask, “What are you supposed to do once
you’ve already stuffed your face?” Admit that you made a
mistake, for starters. It might also be helpful to write
down some of the thoughts you had when you began your
feeding frenzy. Then you could analyze them and see what
might have triggered your behavior. My journal helps me
organize my thoughts and sometimes helps me make better
decisions in the future.
One thing I ask you not
to do is something that I did about 20 or more years ago.
After eating boatloads of junk food one day, I decided that
I wanted to travel back in time so that I could have an
empty stomach again. I’m not sure how many calories I took
in, but it was a frightening amount. Obviously I didn’t
build a machine to travel back in time (a la H.G. Wells),
but I did think of another way to empty my stomach. I
decided to induce vomiting so that I could pretend I stuck
to my diet. That would be a quick fix, and I promised myself
that I would never, ever, do it again.
I bought some syrup of
ipecac (which is used to induce vomiting) from the drug
store and made myself a cocktail. I drank it as I knelt over
the toilet bowl and waited for something to happen, but
nothing did. I then drank a stronger cocktail, more
concentrated than was shown on the bottle, and I started to
feel very sick. I was actually quite happy at that moment,
because I thought that this was going to work. It did not.
All I ended up with was the false heaves and eight hours of
the worst stomachache I’ve ever had.
Please do not try this
at home or anywhere else. By now we should all know the
horrors of binging and purging. Instead, focus on having a
balanced diet and write in your journal (which you have
hopefully started by now). And don’t get too frustrated if
you make a mistake (even if it’s a 3,000 calorie mistake).
But if you find yourself stuck in the binging and purging
cycle, please see a doctor immediately.
Johnny T. Flynn is the
author of the book Heavy Lettuce – Adventures of a
journeyman dieter. Heavy Lettuce will help you to improve
your dieting performance while entertaining you with humor
and real life stories. Read more of Johnny’s humor and
dieting experiences at his website
www.heavylettuce.com or order his book now from Amazon
heavy lettuce
© Johnny T. Flynn for weightloss-articles.com
Johnny T. Flynn is the
author of the book Heavy Lettuce – Adventures of a
journeyman dieter. Heavy Lettuce will help you to
improve your dieting performance while entertaining you with
humor and real life stories. Read more of Johnny’s humor
and dieting experiences at his website
www.heavylettuce.com or order his book now from Amazon
I wish for you the best
of health!
Bill
© weightloss-articles.com
